Driven by China and India and seemingly unaffected by an economic slowdown, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will reach a record high in 2012, according to new figures made public on Sunday.

Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels - mainly the use of coal to generate
electricity - will rise to a record 35.6 billion tonnes, a 58% rise above 1990 levels, said a study released by the Global Carbon Project, a partnership of scientists established in 2001 to create a knowledge base about global warming.

The latest warning - in a slew of dire reports since November - comes during climate-change negotiations, currently on in Doha, Qatar, and due to close, inconclusively, on December 7.